Thursday, March 22, 2018

(Wien) 56 year old Robert Salfenauer and his wife have a 23
year old daughter Chiara and she has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
She has been taken onto a research program at the Vienna General Hospital
(AKH). Every six months she is admitted overnight. Where she is been tested with a course of
treatment over a period of 24 hours. Since the side effects can be life-threatening
the parents always accompany their daughter for
this treatment.

Last Monday, the family went back to the AKH for the latest treatment. However, before Chiara could move into her
room, the hospital staff took the family aside.They were told there
would be a fully-veiled lady by the window-sill, and that it would be a problem
if male escorts entered. Mr Salfenauer pleaded for them to let him enter. A
little later, he was told that although he was allowed to enter the room, he
could not go further than the bed closest to the door and not to his daughters bed which was
further away. He complied with these instructions In fact, he had no
visual contact with the other patient because she was behind a partition. But
she heard his voice straightened up, looked around the screen, and immediately
began to complain about what he was doing here and that he should leave
immediately. She made it quite clear that she did not want a man to be here.

Robert and Mara Salfenauer

The family then left the room and retired to a waiting area,
where they talked about the incident. Shortly thereafter, a doctor accompanied
by security approached the couple and asked them to leave the hospital
immediately as their presence would disturb the peaceful nature of the hospital. They were then escorted off the hospital
premises by security.

The hospital has stated that the incident was unpredictable
and that they regret what happened to the Salfenauer family. However they do
state that there was no unequal treatment or even preference for one of the two
patients. Regards the situation of a patient wearing the Isamic body covering
in a Hospital when it is banned in the country, they replied that the Anti-Facial
Disguise Act does not apply to patient rooms, as these are not public places
within the meaning of the law."

Unfortunately for the hospital the Salfenauer family doesn't see it that way:

“We really have no problem with other religions. Everyone
should keep it as he wants. But we have a problem if a clear violation of the
law is not punished on the one hand, but on the other hand we, as ordinary
Austrian citizens, must submit to such radical minorities in anticipatory
obedience and have to tolerate everything. That just cannot go on. "